Of course, it’s always trite in the film and TV awards business to say being nominated is recognition enough. But when it comes from the producers of an often raunchy animated series like Family Guy, it’s probably true, particularly since there’s so little precedent ( The Flintstones is the only other previous nominee—in 1961). “It’s such a cliché,” says executive producer Steve Callaghan, “but we really do feel like in this case, we probably have an uphill battle to win—it’s not likely—and the nomination is a special thing. I think we all expect the 30 Rock people to come get their trophies and fly back to New York.”
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According to Callaghan, the biggest surprise of the season for the writing staff was the viewer reaction to Peter’s recurrent renditions of the 1963 Trashmen hit “Surfin’ Bird.” “I’m really shocked that that ‘Bird of the Word’ thing caught on the imagination of people the way it did,” he says. “It was just something we had Peter caught up in. We didn’t realize it would be such a memorable moment for the fans.” In fact, when the series producers conducted a series of live Family Guy performances earlier this year, all MacFarlane had to do was (in his Peter voice) say “Have you heard?” and the crowd would erupt, Callaghan says.
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“Everyone on Family Guy is a huge Simpsons fan,” says Callaghan, who thinks the venerable Matt Groening 20-year-old series should have been placed in the Best Comedy Series category in the 1990s when its producers originally sought such mainstream-comedy legitimacy. “When we’re coming up with our shows, we find it continually difficult to feel like we’re not repeating what The Simpsons have done.”
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While taking a shot at TV Academy members for being behind the curve, Family Guy producers also packed other whoppers in their Emmy screener package this year, alerting voters of an episode last season in which Peter visits Nazi Germany. “You’ve got to vote for us,” read the copy. “We did a Holocaust episode!”
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If Family Guy’s ascendance to Emmy comedy series consideration seems unlikely, the fact that the series—launched back in 1999—is still around seems just as unlikely. In 2002, with organizations like the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights blasting the show’s racial, religious, and often crude jokes, advertisers pulling out, and ratings declining, Fox pulled it off the air. However, they brought it back in 2005, after a DVD set featuring the first 28 episodes sold more than 500,000 copies. Repeats of the show also were a hit on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block.
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Callaghan believes the animated series category should honor achievement in realms like kids' cartoon programming, which he says are produced in a much different way than prime-time animated series. “I think prime-time animation is more similar to something like 30 Rock than to say SpongeBob,” he explains. “They should put us in a category where we’re competing against our peers.”
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Family Guy originated from a short film called The Life of Larry, which MacFarlane created while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design. The film featured a middle-aged slop named Larry Cummings, his cynical talking dog, Steve, a pudgy teenage son (Milt) and (of course) a supportive wife named Lois. The film includes many of the same jokes and gags that appeared in the first Family Guy episodes, including the Star Trek parody “I Never Met the Dead Man.”
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While at the Emmys, Callaghan says he’ll be rooting for either Mad Men or House to win the drama-series trophy. As far as comedy series goes, of course, he’d love his own show to get the win. “But we all have to be realistic about our chances. I’d love to see 30 Rock get it. It’s hard, we’d love to win, but I also love that show. "
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